North Carolina or South Carolina? Too many choices! (relocate, homes)

[toobze]

Hi,

We're looking to relocate from Western Massachusetts in a few years after our youngest graduates from high school. We've been researching different areas but have not been able to narrow anything down. We keep vacillating between North Carolina & South Carolina so I'm hoping people on this site can help provide information which might save us some time and make things easier. We're planning on a visit in the spring and need an area to focus on for our first trip.

We love where we live now (except for the cold & icy winters) so we are trying to find the same thing, but warmer. We live on the Connecticut River in a small farming town (pop. 4,000) and are nestled in the center of a prominent five college New England area (Smith, UMass, Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire...to name the big ones - there are more!). We're somewhat off the beaten path but have many amenities very close by. The town we live in is very conservative but the two college towns on each side of us are very liberal and eclectic. They offer much in culture, arts & entertainment but still have a small town feel.

Here's what we're looking for: A small town with very low crime, either on a lake or river or very close to one. We are into boating and water skiing so have been focusing on the lake areas. We don't want to live too close to hurricane-prone areas but would still like to be somewhat close to the ocean, though this is not critical.

We're looking for a town with a population of between 2,000-10,000 but still be less than an hour away from the nearest huge city. A town with an older downtown area/historic district with older homes would be nice and we need to be within a 15-20 minute drive of a Walmart, K-mart, grocery store or similar stores for basic shopping and within an hour or so of a mall for major shopping.

The price of a decent sized home (1500-2000 sq ft), preferably with some acreage, and runs around the $200,000-$250,000 price range. Everything I am seeing is in a sub-division. Are there any home that are NOT in sub-divisions? We would really like a little more privacy & space.

Lastly, we would like someplace that is dog friendly since we have two Welsh Corgis that are very friendly & active and wouldn't mind making a few friends.

I know I'm asking the impossible but if I can find a town with as many of these things as possible it would be great. Does anyone out there have any suggestions? What are the main difference between the states? Thanks so much for your time!